You are offering your employees a retirement plan, and perhaps you have even chosen to contribute money to each of their plans. Congratulations! Now think about how you keep track of that retirement information. You can keep the costs of managing your retirement plan down by automating the tracking of that information. Here are some ways to streamline it, and keep employees happy!

Use software instead of a spreadsheet.

Tracking 401(k) deductions with a payroll software system allows you to set up the calculations, and the 401(k) contribution is automatically calculated during time entry. This eliminates your manual calculation, which of course saves time and also reduces errors. You will wonder how you ever got by keeping track of this data in a spreadsheet.

Set up 401(k) deduction limits for employer and employee.

The ability to set up limits within a software system is extremely helpful! By setting up limits, you can be assured you take out no more than the deduction allowed by the federal government, or the amount specified by the employee. You can rest easy, knowing that you are compliant; whereas a spreadsheet makes it difficult to track that information.

Set up effective dates.

If you offer a 401(k) for employees after a period of employment, how do you ensure they are starting to receive those benefits once they become eligible? A great way to remedy this is to set up an effective date within your payroll software system, based on the parameters you set. That way, employees will start receiving benefits as soon as they are eligible.

Export a 401(k) file.

How do you send your 401(k) retirement plan administrator the data they need to manage your plan? Use your payroll software to track 401(k) retirement information, and generate a file right from your software to send directly to your retirement plan administrator. By generating and sending a file, you will eliminate the additional step of gathering/re-entering the information, which could result in manual entry errors. This will also save you significant time!

Show employees the value of your 401(k) program.

Offering a 401(k) program is a valuable employee benefit. Show your employer share of the 401(k) contribution on the payroll stub for employees to see, and they will appreciate each week the contribution they are receiving from you, their employer.

By using these steps, you will improve your 401(k) management, and also keep employees happy with this valuable benefit you are offering.